Punto de Lectura 2009

A Garden of Earthly Pleasures recreates a period of American life from the Great Depression of the 1930s to the end of the 1960s, marked by violence and heartbreak.

The central character is Clara, the daughter of rural laborers, who leaves home at fifteen after witnessing the futile efforts of her family and closest friends to achieve the American dream while mired in miserable conditions.

Clara builds a wall between herself and the world and begins her pursuit of social advancement, a goal she steadily achieves without regard for—or concern about—what she leaves behind.